A Twist in Time: The Soul Bond
by Allycatdq911
Summary: Harry Potter and his friends are out to save the world from the Dark Lord. But what happens when one unexpected sacrifice changes their lives forever? Time Travel, Soul-Bonding Ginny/Harry


**A/N: Hello all, this is my third ATTEMPT at writing a fanfiction. (I deleted the others) I am very dissatisfied with my previous works, and so I sincerely hope that if you believe my writing to be quality work, please review and tell me what you think. I have seriously NO idea what direction this story is going. If you have any ideas that you think will prove useful, tell me about them. And please, if you wish to flame, at least have the courage to sign in first. Constructive critism, on the other hand, is welcome. And without further delay, I present to you, _A Twist In Time; The Soul Bond_. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, plot, or anything else you recognize. I'm simply toying with Jo's creations....**

* * *

A twisted smile crawled its way onto Voldemort's thin lips. "It ends here." Voldemort hissed. Ron twisted around to yell a warning, but as he did so, a multi-layered golden light pierced his flesh.

"Avada Kedavra!" Time seemed to stand still as everyone glanced up from their own grueling battles in shock. The green light flashed rapidly as it spun through the air. Its bright color grimly contrasted to the pale faces turned towards the inevitable fate that awaited The Chosen One.

Harry locked eyes with Ginny. Pictures and scenes flooded his mind as time seemed to come to a halt. It simply couldn't end like this, who would care for Ginny? His precious Ginny, there was no telling how his death would affect her. Harry needed some way to express the desire and regret that was bursting inside of him, begging for release. As the cold radiance made contact with his flesh, he could only stare at her. Finally, the words came.

"I love you," he whispered, as his body tumbled backwards into the veil.

Screams faintly echoed in Harry's ears, but they grew increasingly distant as he sank further into the silver mist. Suddenly without warning, the fog lifted, and Harry looked up into a familiar set of twinkling blue eyes.

"Dumbledore?" Harry asked warily.

Dumbledore did not answer, instead he sighed wearily. Then Harry noticed a warm, bright light shining in the distance. He suddenly was filled with the desire to run straight into the brilliant radiance, and without realizing it, took a step closer, and then another.

"Harry." Dumbledore smiled sadly.

Harry tore out of the trance with a jerk, and staggered backwards. "You may go if you wish, my dear boy, but know that it is not yet your time." Dumbledore said.

"Where am I?" Harry struggled not to focus on the warmth that seemed to pulse with magic and light.

"You are on the verge of the Otherside. If you continue on, and head towards the light, you will be reunited with your loved ones. If you head back into the mist, you will become a ghost." Dumbledore explained.

"Then it's over." Harry whispered.

"On the contrary..." Dumbledore looked nervous.

Harry ignored him. "And Ginny! I don't know whether to hope whether I'll see her again or not. And Mum and Dad!" A soft smile crept onto Harry's face.

Just then, the silver fog once again descended upon them, and it was then Harry saw her. Seemingly in slow motion she ran towards her lover, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry returned the embrace as Ginny sobbed into his chest.

"Shhh...it's okay Ginny." He whispered

Ginny looked up into his emerald eyes as she wiped her tear streaked face with her sleeve.

"Harry. As soon as you left...Ron and Hermione..." She buried her head in his neck again as a new onslaught of tears began.

"Bellatrix...the Cruciatus...." Harry's eyes tightened.

Dumbledore coughed softly. "Then they'll be here any minute. We must hurry." He drew his wand.

"With what?" Ginny drew closer to Harry.

"The ritual." Dumbledore grimly flicked his wand, and a silver circle arose around them, encircling their feet.

Harry made to move out of the circle.

"STOP!" Dumbledore bellowed.

Harry froze in fear.

"If either of you so much as take one step out of this circle, both of your souls will self destruct." Dumbledore muttered as his wand flew through the air and vibrated with magic.

Finally Dumbledore leaned forward and grabbed Ginny and Harry's hands, so they were in a triangle. Harry and Ginny's hands intertwined as the comforted each other silently.

Dumbledore crinckled his brow. "Harry, don't you understand? The power the Dark Lord knows not is _love_! I've made a lot of mistakes in my life that I know I can never put right. But I give this gift to you; a soul bond." Dumbledore released their hands as a light shone brightly above them.

The circle slowly began to shrink as the light came closer. Ginny twisted around sharply as a scream sliced through the air. Harry too turned in horror to see Dumbledore's eyes fade. A white light shone all around Dumbledore, and shattered into millions of fragments. Ginny's arms instinctively wrapped around Harry's. His body strained against her arms, and she sucked in her breath as she squeezed tighter. She would _not _lose Harry, not this time.

"Dumbledore!" Harry screamed as the light consumed them all, and with that last scream, the world faded into nothing.

* * *

Harry jerked up, and winced as his head slammed against the ceiling. His eyes flickered open, and then widened in shock. He was inside his cupboard, under the stairs. Harry pushed hard on the door, but it didn't budge. He sighed, Uncle Vernon must have locked it again. That is, if he wasn't dreaming... He turned to examine his surroundings. A small pocket mirror gleamed on the floor in front of him. Harry grabbed the mirror, only to drop it hastily. The pieces shattered on the ground, littering the closeted space. Harry focused on the mess carefully, and finally whispered, "Reparo". The ministry would write if off as underage magic.

The pieces slowly reconnected, but Harry felt drained from the exercise. This disturbed him slightly, why did he feel this tired? He had been training at wandless magic ever since he was nineteen. It was then he looked into the small mirror, and stared at the small eleven year old peering back at him. Harry slumped against the door, and fell into an uneasy slumber.

* * *

Ginny opened her eyes slowly, and squinted against the shining light of her lamp. She slowly sat up numbly. Where was she? Oddly enough it reminded Ginny of the Burrow. Of course that had been destroyed years ago, along with Dad and Percy. Ginny walked out into the.... kitchen, where she could only stop and stare. Her entire family was right in front of her. It took all of her self-control not to run up to them and scream. It was then she glanced down at her hands. They were so...._small. _Ginny rushed to the bathroom and stared at the little girl in the mirror. Ginny clutched her long stringy hair.

This could simply _not _be happening. It was impossible! If they had truly been sent back in time, that would mean that Dumbledore.... _NO! _Ginny viciously shoved that thought from her mind. Dumbledore was indestructible. When everything else failed, the leader of the light had not. But...as her reflection frowned back at her, she realized with horror, that it was indeed real. Everything they had worked for was gone. Those years and years of training to conquer the Dark Lord were wasted.

But....at the same time, there were some definite advantages to the situation. Technically, Dumbledore hadn't destroyed his soul yet. And it was with that thought that Ginny realized this had not been a curse, but rather a wonderful opportunity. An opportunity to save their friends from their fate; Sirius, Molly, _all of them._ And it was _they _who would have the advantage; Harry and her. The thought that Harry was the only person on earth whom she could confide in sent shivers up her spine. Ginny grinned wickedly, _and think of all the pranks we could pull_.

Ginny eyed her reflection. This couldn't be SO bad.

"GINNY!" A loud voice echoed throughout the house.

Ginny smiled determinedly. "Coming Mum!"

Mrs. Weasley poured a tall glass of orange juice. Ginny threw her arms around her mum and gave her a Weasley hug. Molly looked briefly surprised at the gesture, but she soon returned the embrace. Ginny did not realize just how much she had missed her Mum's cooking. After finishing her breakfast, Ginny checked out the family calendar to see how old she was.

Ginny scowled in disgust. She wouldn't be attending Hogwarts for another year. She simply _had _to contact Harry! But in the previous time line she had learned that Dumbledore had blocked off all magical means of contact. However… there was nothing that warded against _Muggle_ means of contact. Ginny grinned as she grabbed a quill and parchment and began writing…

* * *

Harry had been doing some thinking while he sat trapped in his cupboard. He had finally come up with the conclusion that though he wanted to change a deal of things, that if his foreknowledge was to do him any good, it was important to stick to the past time line as much as possible. Without warning, the door flung open and a pudgy face peered into the cupboard.

"Get up boy!" Vernon shouted.

Harry sprang out quickly and made his way over to the kitchen to make the Dursley's breakfast. Harry only grabbed a piece of toast and went to check the mail. He wasn't sure if today was the day the letter came or if it was later. He opened the mailbox and found two letters both addressed to him. He neatly tucked the letters under his shirt and gave the rest of the mail to Vernon. Harry attempted to slip back into his cupboard unnoticed, but his aunt and uncle had several tedious chores for him to attend to before Harry could retreat back to his cupboard.

Harry flicked his wrist to perform a quick Locking spell to ensure he had some privacy. He gasped as the magic flew from his body into the spell. Harry's eyebrows creased in worry, but his attention returned to the letters. The first one Harry only briefly scanned was his Hogwarts letter. After safely tucking it under his pillow, Harry tore open the second one. It was a letter from Ginny:

"Dear Harry, It appears that we have been sent back. Please meet me in Diagon Alley tomorrow near Marvello's ice cream shop. Hopefully we'll have the day together…I'll just ask Mum if I can run errands for her. Is 10:00 good? I don't know how you will make it, but I'm counting on you. Write me back if you absolutely can't find a ride. Until then…

-Love Ginny"

Harry grinned as he tucked the precious letter until his pillow along with his Hogwarts invitation. He probably couldn't get away with wandering around Diagon Alley as Harry Potter. Which meant that he had to find some sort of disguise…Harry picked up the mirror and closed his eyes. He whispered a small hair coloring charm and adjusted the length accordingly. Harry grinned as he stared at a small boy with blonde hair and _very_ long bangs. He didn't want to risk someone seeing his scar. Of course if someone cast a Revealing charm he'd be caught, but the chances of that happening was fairly low.

Now the only thing left to do was to find a means of travel. Although Harry knew how to apparate, he imagined it would look a little strange if he showed up without an adult…and even if no one noticed, Harry wasn't sure if the Ministry could track that sort of thing on children who had been officially introduced to magic. Most magic that Harry performed, the Ministry would assume it was accidental. But actually apparating? Harry didn't want any more attention on him that absolutely necessary.

Apparating was out of the question, but there was a floo system nearby. If only he could access it without Mrs. Figg's knowledge! Harry's eyes gleamed with mischief as he snuck out of his cupboard towards the calendar. He had little trouble imitating his aunt's messy scrawl.

"Trip to Video Game Circuit for Dudders." Harry capped the pen and stood back to admire his handiwork. _Creak._ Harry froze. Terror surged through him, and he quickly tiptoed back out to the living room and swung open his door. He winced as an even louder noise enumerated throughout the room. Grinding his teeth together, Harry crawled into his cramped space. Outside his cupboard, Harry could hear his uncle opening the refrigerator for a late night snack. The soft humming was echoing in Harry's mind as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Ginny paced anxiously back and forth across the room as she waited for her mum to wake up. What if Harry didn't show up? What if he never got the letter? She hesitated and glanced at the floo. What would it matter if she left a little early? Ginny walked to the fireplace, her heart pounding nervously. She grabbed the silver powder and threw it into the fire. As the green flames grew higher, Ginny sucked in a gulp of air.

"Diagon Alley!" She shouted. But before she could step forward into freedom, a firm hand closed around her wrist and pulled her away from the Floo.

"Just where do you think you're going, young lady?" Molly raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Oh…er, I got up early and decided to help you out by running to the store to pick up some groceries!" Ginny looked innocently up at her mother.

Molly narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You were supposed to wait for me. Ginny, you're ten years old for Merlin's sake! You can't be running off by yourself…What were you thinking? Running off to Diagon Alley? Do you know how easily you could have gotten lost?"

"Sorry Mum." Ginny lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Go to your room, Ginny. Next time maybe you'll think before you act."

"Yes Mum." Ginny looked crestfallen as she ran upstairs.

Molly headed off to her room. She carefully counted her money, and shook her head. She would have to stop at Gringotts before she could begin shopping. As she walked back out to the living room, she noticed the flames were smoldering down.

Molly Weasley was furious. Her children often got into mischief, but to deliberately disobey her? She reached for the Floo powder to chase after her youngest daughter, but to her horror found it empty.

"GINNY!" Molly screamed.


End file.
